Ceci n'est pas une pipe," is how René Magritte subtitled his famous realistic rendering of a pipe. "This is not a regulator," is how one might want to subtitle the MeisterSinger Singulator. This timepiece makes use of the same typical style elements as a regulator, but with one big difference; It only has a single hand. Ever since Manfred Brassler launched his brand on the German market at the beginning of the millenium, people have had the option of reducing the day to a rhythmic succession of five-minute intervals.

Looking at these ultimately simplified dials does tempt one to classify the one-hand watch as a archetype. The single hand simply cannot be reduced any further, and the 144 minutes for 12 hours around the dial do have a normative function of sorts. But in a frenetic era, whn time has become so rare, these watches do tend to slow things down a little.

Meanwhile, Brassler has put a few three-hand watches on the market, but the hour hand remains the dominant feature on the dials. A new series geared toward women exudes its own simplicity, with just a slight breeze of colour softening up the dial. Design, product planning, service, and management are all done in Münster in Germany. The watches, however, are Swiss made, with ETA and Sellita movements.